Introduction
to Bible Prophecy
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Finally, if you
disagree with my conclusions, do not
waste precious time arguing with me.
Direct your energy toward the
ultimate prophetic challenge: Write
your own commentary. Present your
conclusions to the world. Post your
rules of interpretation openly so
that everyone can test your rules as
well as your fidelity to them!
Distribute several thousand copies of
your book. See what happens! If your
message is true, the Lord will bless
you. Hurry – Jesus is coming
soon. If you think His return is as
near as I do, then share the good
news!
2. Five Prophecies in
Daniel and Twelve Prophecies in
Revelation
All apocalyptic
prophecies have a special
characteristic – “Each
prophecy has a beginning point in
time, an ending point in time, and
the events within each prophecy are
listed in the order in which they
will occur.” According to Rule
One, there are seventeen apocalyptic
prophecies in the books of Daniel and
Revelation. When the five prophecies
in Daniel and the twelve prophecies
in Revelation are correctly aligned,
they produce one time line of clearly
discernable events that occur in
chronological order. The beauty of
this time line is that we can easily
determine our chronological position
in God’s plan for man’s
salvation.
Some of the seventeen
prophecies began centuries ago. Nine
sequences will begin in the near
future and six are currently
underway. All seventeen prophecies
interlock with each other and
together, they form a solid matrix
that might be compared to a homemade
car ramp constructed of layers of
planks. As we move forward in time,
we rise higher and higher on the
ramp. To better visualize this ramp,
consider this illustration: A man
wants to change the oil in his car,
but he cannot get to the oil pan
because the car sits too low to the
ground. He needs two ramps to elevate
the front wheels of his car. To make
a ramp, the man cuts seventeen pieces
of timber of varying lengths. He
sorts the planks so that the longest
piece will be on the bottom and the
shortest will be on the top. Then, he
takes the longest board and nails the
next longest board to it so that the
second board lays a few inches away
from the leading edge of the first
board. The man continues to stack and
nail the boards together until he has
created a ramp of seventeen boards.
After making two such ramps, he
drives his car up the ramps and
changes the oil!
The point in this
illustration is threefold: First,
when the ramps are completed, each
group of seventeen boards work
together as one unit. Similarly, the
books of Daniel and Revelation
produce one cohesive story. Second,
the seventeen boards are deliberately
arranged so that the man’s car
rises higher and higher as he drives
forward up the ramp. In other words,
each board increases the height of
the ramp because they are stacked on
top of each other. Similarly, as we
near the end of time, our
understanding of God’s plans
become brighter and clearer. Finally,
the nails that hold the seventeen
boards together are indispensable.
The nails keep the boards properly
aligned. So it is with the seventeen
prophecies in Daniel and Revelation.
They are “nailed together”
by prophetic events. A prophetic
event in one prophecy will align with
a description of the same event in
another prophecy, and soon, by
“nailing” all of the
prophecies together, nothing can
move. The end result is that we have
a solid platform (the more sure word
of prophecy) that can withstand the
full weight of scoffers and critical
investigation.
According to the Merriam
Webster Dictionary, an
apocalypse is a divine or glorious
revelation. For this reason, the last
book of the Bible is often
called The Apocalypse or The
Revelation. The title given
to the last book in the Bible
suggests something will be revealed
to the world that is otherwise
unknown. This “something”
is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is far
different from the icon that most
Christians talk about. Jesus is much
larger and more complex than most
Christians understand. During the
Great Tribulation, Jesus Christ will
be fully revealed to the world in
truth and righteousness and this is
why the last book of the Bible is
called “The Revelation of Jesus
Christ!”[11]
In a sense, all
sixty-six books of the Bible qualify
as a “revelation,” because
they are inspired. The Bible as a
whole reveals wonderful things about
God and His love for mankind that
would otherwise be unknown. Daniel
and its counterpart, Revelation, are
unlike the other books in the Bible,
because they were reserved for the
final generation. They are special
because they contain new information
about Jesus Christ and His
forthcoming actions. They tell the
conclusion of a story that began
thousands of years ago in Heaven.
Jesus’ ministry on Earth is a
part of the story, but it is only
part of the story! Think of it this
way: If Christ’s death on the
cross is “the greatest story
ever told,” then what is
revealed when Christ brings an end to
sin and gathers His children must be
the grandest story that can be told!
3. Five Types of
Prophecy Are in the Bible
Many Christians are
confused about Bible prophecy in
general because there is so much of
it. Consider this: The Bible contains
five distinct types of prophecy and
each type must be interpreted
according to its own rules. The five
types of Bible prophecy are: 23
Introduction Jesus’ Final
Victory
A. Messianic
Prophecies
These prophecies are
associated with the work and ministry
of Jesus. There are more than 450
Messianic statements or prophecies in
the Bible. Some prophecies concern
His first advent and others, His
second advent. Here are a few
examples: Isaiah 53, Psalm 22,
Matthew 26:64, John 14:1-3, and 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18.
B. Judaic Prophecies
The covenant between
God and the ancient nation of Israel
contained many promises and
prophecies. Contrary to the beliefs
of many people today, these promises
and prophecies were conditional.
God’s covenant with Israel was
contingent on Israel’s behavior.[12] Bible history
shows that Israel repeatedly rebelled
against God and broke His covenant.
This behavior explains why God
destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in
A.D. 70.[13] Many people
believe that God will fulfill all of
the prophecies and promises that He
gave to ancient Israel, but a careful
study of Daniel will reveal that this
is not possible. The unconditional
nature of apocalyptic prophecy proves
that the conditional promises made to
ancient Israel have been abolished
and they cannot be fulfilled! (See
Appendix B.)
God’s covenant
with ancient Israel ended with the
expiration of the seventy weeks in
A.D. 33. Over the centuries, Israel
would not cooperate with God,
therefore God annihilated the nation
of Israel in A.D. 70. Knowing this
would be the case, Jesus initiated a
new covenant that redefined Israel
prior to His death on the cross. The
new Israel of God now consists of
believers in Christ.[14] God redefined
Israel during the seventieth week so
that He could fulfill the promises
that He made to Abraham. The end
result is that Abraham’s
descendants are no longer biological.
According to the new covenant, those
who live by faith, as Abraham did,
are Abraham’s “seed”
(the Greek word for seed is sperma).[15] A study of
Deuteronomy 28, Galatians 3,
Ephesians 2, Romans 9-11, and Hebrews
4 confirms that God never fails to
keep His word, even if He has to cut
off the dead branches and “graft
in” another group of people to
fulfill His promises. A good example
of a Judaic prophecy is found in
Deuteronomy 28. Judaic prophecies are
important today because they help us
better understand the new covenant
which contains “better
promises” and prophecies.[16]
Millions of people
make the mistake of merging old
covenant promises and prophecies with
new covenant promises and prophecies,
and the result is total confusion.
The promises and prophecies God gave
to ancient Israel had to be abandoned
because Israel became obstinate.
After 1,400 years of dealing with
Israel, God abandoned biological
Israel and created a new Israel. The
books of Daniel and Revelation are
based on the new covenant. This is
one reason why Daniel was sealed up
until the time of the end. God gave
the information in the book of Daniel
while His covenant with ancient
Israel was still intact. IfIsrael
had properly responded to God’s
grace during the seventy weeks
and if Israel had
embraced Messiah and ushered in the
kingdom of God when Jesus appeared on
Earth, the prophecies given in the
books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and
Isaiah would have been fulfilled as
promised. If Israel had embraced
Messiah, there would not have been a
new covenant or even a New Testament,
but sadly, Israel rebelled and God
had no choice but to start over with
a redefined Israel. (Please see
Appendices B and D.)
C. Day of the Lord
Prophecies
Many “Day of the
Lord” prophecies are scattered
throughout Scripture. These
prophecies predict the end of
wickedness and the vindication of
God’s people. Elements within
these prophecies are often general
enough that we can find parallels at
different times in human history. For
example, Isaiah 24 and Ezekiel 7
predict the destruction of Israel
which parallels the destruction of
Earth at the end of Earth’s
history. Matthew 24 is a “Day of
the Lord” prophecy. This
prophecy has components in it that
deal with the destruction of
Jerusalem (A.D. 70), as well as the
end of the world. Statements about
each time period are given in one
prophecy because there are obvious
parallels between the two events.
However, the Day of the Lord
prophecies do not have multiple
fulfillments. The words of Jesus in
Matthew 24 that pertained to the fall
of Jerusalem have been fulfilled and
statements that pertain to the end of
the world will be fulfilled.
D. Local Prophecies
Local prophecies apply
to specific people, places, and
times. For example, the prophecy
concerning Nineveh (Jonah 1) is a
local prophecy. Local prophecies
require a messenger to explain or
proclaim the prophecy. In
Nineveh’s case, Jonah was the
messenger. Before the flood, God
chose Noah as a local messenger. At
25 Introduction Jesus’ Final
Victory the time of the First Advent,
God chose John the Baptist as a local
messenger. Even though the messages
of local prophets belong to specific
times and places, timeless principles
sustain their value. Since the
behavior of God is constant, local
prophecies also offer important
parallels for our consideration.
Jesus said, “As it was in
the days of Noah, so it will be at
the coming of the Son of Man.”[17]
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